Government affairs and public relations firm Grayling has partnered with a former Department of Homeland Security official to offer a new set of cybersecurity services.

Grayling announced last week that it has teamed with Nexusist, a management consulting company run by Michael Locatis, former assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at DHS.

Under the partnership, Grayling (its Washington office goes by DutkoGrayling) has established a cybersecurity consulting and advisory services business that will offer consulting for boards and executives; crisis communication; social media response; and procurement tracking, among other cyber-related services.

Locatis said in an interview that the Grayling unit aims to differentiate itself with its knowledge of cybersecurity for government and the private sector.

GAO upholds parts of protest of NNSA contract

The Government Accountability Office last month upheld portions of protests filed by Lynchburg-based Nuclear Production Partners and Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions against a National Nuclear Security Administration award to Reston-based Consolidated Nuclear Security.

(Nuclear Production Partners is a team of contractors led by Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Group; Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions is a team that includes Jacobs Engineering Group and Fluor Federal Services; and Consolidated Nuclear Security is a Bechtel National-led team).

According to the GAO, the agency did not properly adhere to its selection criteria for the contract, which would help consolidate several facilities.

The GAO recommended the agency reopen the procurement, get additional information from the competitors and reevaluate its decision.

Bloomberg study shows contract dollars shrinking

A study released by Bloomberg Government last week showed that total federal contract spending in fiscal 2012 dropped to $516.3 billion, down 3.1 percent from fiscal 2011.

The top 200 government contractors won 64 percent of the dollars, the study showed.

The report also found that 96 of the top 200 companies — and seven of the top 10 — saw their contract awards decline, but the remaining 104 were able to increase their revenue.

Bloomberg Government noted several growth areas. Space contractors, such as Orbital Sciences, grew their contract awards, as did drone manufacturers. Health technology contractors, including CGI, were also able to increase their work, the study found.

Logistics services companies, including KBR, saw declines in their revenue as the military left Iraq and reduced its presence in Afghanistan, according to the report.

GAO denies PAE protest

The GAO has also denied a protest filed by Arlington-based PAE against a State Department contract to provide criminal justice program support to Haiti awarded to Falls Church-based DynCorp International .

PAE argued that the agency failed in its price evaluation and in ignoring adverse past performance information about DynCorp, but the GAO wrote that it has “reviewed all of the protester’s arguments and find that none provides a basis to sustain the protest.”

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